Winners at Wembley this afternoon will end up banking only £3.9m from the entire fund, which is a fraction of what can be made in Premier League but points to a more evenly distributed model
Then there were two. This season’s FA Cup began on the first weekend of August with 416 clubs competing in the extra preliminary round and will conclude at Wembley this afternoon when Premier League champions Manchester City meet rivals United.
And while the minnows who triumphed in the opening qualifying round banked £1,125 for their work, the eventual victors later today will end up banking £3.9m from the FA’s prize fund.
That may not be a huge sum compared to the estimated £170m City have earned for winning the Premier League and the more than £100m they banked for winning last season’s Champions League – but the revenue split from a total pot worth just under £20m is far more balanced for those lower down the pyramid.
It has been a campaign full of shocks – from Championship Coventry City’s run to the semi-finals and their almost historic comeback against United, to Maidstone shocking Ipswich at Portman Road.
Here is the complete guide to this season’s FA Cup prize money from those opening games involving teams in the eighth division to the big prize being fought for by Manchester’s biggest rivals.
Emirates FA Cup prize money
(number of clubs in brackets)
Extra preliminary round winners (208) £1,125
Extra preliminary round losers (208) £375
Preliminary round winners (136) £1,444
Preliminary round losers (136) £481
First round qualifying winners (112) £2,250
First round qualifying losers (112) £750
Second round qualifying winners (80) £3,375
Second round qualifying losers (80) £1,125
Third round qualifying winners (40) £5,625
Third round qualifying losers (40) £1,875
Fourth round qualifying winners (32)£9,375
Fourth round qualifying losers (32) £3,125
First round proper winners (40) £41,000
Second round proper winners (20) £67,000
Third round proper winners(32) £105,000
Fourth round proper winners (16) £120,000
Fifth round proper winners (8) £225,000
Quarter-final winners (4) £450,000
Semi-final winners (2) £1,000,000
Semi-final losers (2) £500,000
Final runners-up (1) £1,000,000
Final winners (1) £2,000,000
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